Democratic action of Quebec

The democratic Action of Quebec (or ADQ) is a Political party which evolves/moves on the provincial scene. Its chief is Mario Dumont. The members of the ADQ are made call adequists , just like the partisans.

The ADQ is defined as being separatist and of center-right on the Québécois political chessboard; its program envisages repatriation with the Quebec several capacities and the occupation of all the fields of Québécois jurisdiction. At the time of the referendum of 1995 on the sovereignty of Quebec, it took part in the Committee of Yes in order to making sure that the concept of negotiation with the remainder of the Canada would be present in the chief clerk question. After the failure of the camp of YES, Mario Dumont claimed a 10 years moratorium on any bearing subsequent referendum on the national question.

Internet site of the ADQ summarizes its political positions in three major elements:

To make people more autonomous, to let them choose, release their talent.
To raise the glance, to further see, to control more according to the long run.
To control expressly for the silent majority.

The ADQ made elect 41 appointed/appointed at the time of the general poll of March 26th, 2007, enabling him to form the Official opposition with the National Assembly of Quebec.

History

Origins: 1994 to 2002

The ADQ was founded in 1994 by a group of nationalist which supported the “ Report/ratio Allaire ”, a document which preached a system of federalism decentralized which increases in an important way the capacities of the government of Quebec.

After the failure of the Agreement of the lake Meech, that several perceived like a rejection of Quebec, the Liberal party of Quebec adopts the Allaire report/ratio as an official constitutional policy. However, the party draws aside finally this report/ratio in 1992 with the profit of the Accord of Charlottetown. This agreement would have recognized Quebec like a distinct Société within Canada, but the reform of the Canadian federalism was much more modest there.

Although the majority of the liberals support the agreement of Charlottetown, a certain number are opposed and left the party to it. Carried out by Jean Allaire, member of the Liberal party and lawyer of Laval, and Mario Dumont, a rising political star which had been president of the commission of the young liberals, the dissidents found the democratic Action of Quebec. Allaire becomes the first chief of the party, but he resigns a few months later for health reasons; Dumont succeeds to him.

As of the beginning, the ADQ preaches a tax conservatism. Dumont criticizes the government, which he considers disconnected from daily realities of ordinary people, and preaches economic policies of center-right, such as the balance in the budget, the abrogation of the obligatory royalties towards the Syndicat S, the reduction of the size of the Québécois Bureaucratie, the Sous-traitance of certain public services as well as a greater place with private in the health system in order to reducing the costs unceasingly growing of the public universal system. The party also supports an electoral reform which would make directly elect the Prime Minister by a popular vote and 50 of the 125 deputies by a system of representation proportional.

Having few financial resources and excluded from the televised debates, Dumont is made nevertheless elect with the National Assembly at the time of the general election of 1994, the only candidate adequist elected on this occasion. At the time of the referendum of 1995 on the sovereignty of Quebec started by the government pequist, Dumont makes countryside for YES. However, after the victory of NOT, it has preaches a moratorium on the national question, which is worth charges to him not to have any clear position on the question.

At the time of the election of 1998, Dumont takes part in the televised debate of the chiefs and is re-elected with the National Assembly, but he does not manage to widen his electoral base sufficiently to make elect other candidates of his party; he remains the only representative of his party at the Parliament. Although he enjoys a strong personal popularity, the popularity of its party was always less than his.

The political ancestor of the ADQ was described as being the national liberal Action, a party separatist and liberal-conservative directed by Paul Gouin. However, the party claims more ideas of Jean Lesage.

Rise and descent: 2002-2003

In 2002, the dissatisfaction with the voters vis-a-vis the government of the Left Québécois Bernard Landry and of the opposition the Liberal party Quebec Jean Charest leads to unexpected victories of the ADQ at the time of a series of bys-election, carrying the caucus with five deputies. Following these victories, the popularity of the ADQ goes up out of arrow, preceding the two traditional parties in the surveys for the first time of its existence. For one rather short period, certain analysts predicted that the ADQ could gain up to 42% of the popular vote and more than 80 seats to the National Assembly.

This visibility of the ADQ attracts a greater popular support to him, more financial resources as well as a certain number of candidate-high-speed motorboats for the general election of 2003. For the first time, the media regard Mario Dumont as a serious candidate at the station of Prime Minister for Quebec.

However, its political adversaries react by making a negative campaign against the ADQ for the first time, succeeding in tarnishing the image of the party seriously. So certain attacks were rather coarse and unjust (David Payne, the deputy pequist of Vachon, compared the ADQ with the National front of Jean-Marie Le Pen, a comparison repeated in 2007 by the liberal candidate Pierre Arcand), others reveal the existence of faults in the platform adequist as well as a certain incompatibility with its preserving philosophy and certain voters.

The popularity of the ADQ pricks of the nose and all the candidate-high-speed motorboats, except for Dumont, are demolished at the time of the election of 2003. Dumont does not make any big mistake during the televised debate but its performance is not dissociated and he does not manage to gain momentum. In contrast, the liberal chief Jean Charest manages to put Bernard Landry of the Québécois Party on the defensive.

The ADQ receives 18,24% of the vote and makes elect four deputies. It attracts itself sufficient votes of former voters pequists to ensure the victory the liberals of Jean Charest, but not enough to obtain the statute of official party to the National Assembly, which would ensure to him a greater visibility as well as greater resources.

Recent history

Nevertheless, certain local, unknown personalities on a provincial scale, manage to tear off some districts acquired before with the Québécois Party.

The party benefits from the anger raised by the Council Decision of broadcasting and Canadian telecommunications (CRTC) not to renew the license of the radio station CHOI-FM with Quebec. The organizer Jeff Fillion encourages its listeners to vote for the candidate adequist Sylvain Légaré at the time of a by-election in the electoral constituency of Vanier; Légaré defends the freedom of expression of the station and is made elect on September 20th, 2004, which changes to five the number of deputies of the ADQ for the 37 {{E}} legislature.

A few days later, the ADQ holds a congress with Drummondville, where its members adopt a new constitutional policy, being defined as separatist. At the time of this congress, the members elect Yvon Picotte with the presidency of the party, a station held before by the political analyst Guy Laforest.

According to Joseph Facal, former president of the Council of the Treasury in the government of the Québécois Party and signatory of the proclamation For lucid Quebec, with these two events, the ADQ succeeded in becoming again a major political clout. The opening of the Conservative party in Quebec at the time of the federal election of 2006 could also have an impact. Among the ten lately elected preserving deputies, four — Maxime Bernier, Steven Blaney, Jacques Gourd and Josée Verner — are elected in districts represented by the ADQ at the provincial level.

In May 2006, the ADQ holds a congress with Granby, where the possibility was evoked that the former Prime Minister Lucien Bouchard unites with the party; this one indeed had just signed the proclamation For lucid Quebec , that Dumont accommodated with enthusiasm. However, the former Prime Minister showed himself not interested in a political comeback active. Dumont evoked the subject of a new round of constitutional negotiations with the current preserving federal government so that Quebec grants finally its signature to the Constitution of Canada.

Recently, the ADQ stressed the reasonable compromises and wishes to make of it a stake of the electoral campaign of 2007. One criticizes in particular the inequality between the men and the women which is generated by these religious compromises. Certain media however made the point that the current position adequist on the religious compromises slices with that adopted in 1999. At the time where one spoke about deconfessionnalisation, the ADQ decided in favor of the right for each community to have access to a course of religious teaching for their respective religion where the number justified it.

March 4th, 2007, the ADQ receives a support of Victor-Levy Beaulieu; he was shown of treason by Claude Jasmin.

September 30th, 2007, Tom Pentefountas becomes president of the ADQ to replace Gilles Taillon.

Electoral program 2007

December 18th, the ADQ is the first party to reveal its electoral program for the next general election. The program contains 86 electoral engagements which will be quantified and explained more in detail with the day before of the election.

The program in particular proposes to reform the social security. If it seizes the power, the party intends to appreciably decrease the services of people who are ready to work to oblige them to turn over on the labor market; at the same time, it intends to increase the services of those which are not able to work.

As regards education, the program envisages the abolition of the school commissions to redistribute their funds directly at the schools, the progressive thaw of the school fees and the allowance of the program of loans and purses to the poorer students.

The ADQ also proposes the creation of a Québécois citizenship as well as constitution to enchase the “ common values of Québec ”; he also proposes to invest more in the programmes of integration of the immigrants. The party wishes moreover start new constitutional negotiations with the federal government to obtain more autonomy for Quebec. PAQ. He also proposes to make a greater place for the private one in the field of health and to pour more generous family benefits.

The ADQ is committed to balance the budget, to reduce the size of the State and not increasing the taxes of the taxpayers; however, he does not promise any fall of tax, contrary to the election of 2003.

Mario Dumont announced that, if it gains the elections, it intends to give to the parents an allowance of 100 $ per week by preschool child which does not attend a subsidized nursery, which would add up 5200 $ per child per year. The total costs of this program would be approximately 900 million $, amount which he intends to go to seek thanks to the cuts in the other expenditure of the government as well as the economic growth. He intends to make this promise a central stake of the electoral campaign.

The shortly after the elections of March 26th, 2007, the ADQ forms the Official opposition, the party having gained 41 seats. It is a historical first for the party and the province of Quebec.

Electoral results

Sources

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